Owners have filed 11,432 complaints on the Dodge Durango, covering 1997–2026. The system named most often is Electrical System (1,087 reports). Worst years by volume: 1999, 2005, 2004; cleanest: 1997, 2025, 2026. 556 reports describe a crash, 321 a fire, 13 a death. On average the car was 5.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Dodge Durango
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 11,432 Durango complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 1,087 Read
After about 3mins of driving my vehicle I started to smell burning plastic, a couple seconds later I saw a view black squiggly lines which was smoke which made me look around. At that point I saw the USB port engulfed in flames. As I was driving I panicked and pulled over on the side of the road and looked for…
I'm having issues with my 2021 Dodge Durango I have a recall on a rear view camera a recall on a rear spoiler a recall on the steering assembly a recall on the ESC light mail function ABS system loose airbags
The car has been having intermittent electrical problems and was brought to the dealer many times for repair. The "radio" system has been replaced twice after various electrical problems occurred. The car has also intermittently had a problem where the engine revs excessively and the car does not handle the way it…
Exterior Lighting 631 Read
Daytime running LED does not work and headlight is not properly lit in the dark. Headlight assembly is not covered by extended warranty
When I remote started my vehicle. I came outside to smoke rolling out of my back hatch area. Upon further investigating the racetrack tail light had caught fire
Air did employ when it hit a deer at 35 mph , inside light go so dim on the radio and the front, you see the dashboard or the radio
Air Bags 328 Read
Takata recall said vehicle hit another vehicle that improperly pulled across the highway in front of my 2003 dodge durango. Therewas a disabling accident in which the air bags exploded and burned,partially, there is a police report as well as medical and photo documentation
I stopped at a stop sign and waited for the other vehicle to go by. As they passed me, I made a right turn and headed south in the same direction. Within 30 ft after I took off from the stop sign, I glanced to the left and when I looked forward the vehicle in front me had stopped. I turned my wheels to the right and…
The contact owns a 1999 dodge durango. While driving less than 55 mph, a deer ran in front of the vehicle. The contact attempted to avoid the deer and swerved his vehicle to the right. He sideswiped trees on the passenger side of the vehicle and slightly off center on the driver's side. The vehicle stopped when it…
Seats 310 Read
The contact owns a 2020 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that moments after starting the vehicle and while driving approximately 55 MPH, the contact suddenly felt a sharp burning pain in the buttocks area. The contact immediately stopped the vehicle and discovered a burn hole in the clothing and a skin burn to the…
On nov. 16, 2011 our 2007 dodge durango caught on fire while my husband was driving home on I-95. Initially the driver seat became extremely hot and 15-20 minutes later the vehicle was on fire. We made sure that all of the maintenance was kept up-to-date on the vehicle and there were no warning signs. Once my husband…
While vehicle was parked a fire started underneath the driver's seat. The fire was put out. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem
Power Train 281 Read
The contact owned a 2021 Dodge Durango. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph and turning in an exit veering to the right when the vehicle began reducing in speed and the vehicle was displaying numbers counting down on the instrument panel. The contact pulled to the side of the road where they…
I started to back out of my daughters garage and felt the tire hit something. I didn't want to back over it so I pulled forward, put the vehicle in park, opened the door and started to get out. I got one foot on the ground and the vehicle took off in reverse. I was thrown back into the seat. The door being partially…
While driving the vehicle a message came up on the cluster "start/stop system disabled. Service start/stop system". Shortly after there was another message "low battery mode. Some systems function reduced". I looked at the system health status and the battery voltage was at 11.2 volts. While driving the voltage…
Service Brakes 239 Read
Complete brake failure when stopping for a red light. This caused the vehicle to rear end a Jeep stopped at the light. Brake pedal went completely to the floor. This was verified by the investigating State Trooper, who started the Durango and checked the brakes, they went all the way to the floor as indicated in his…
The contact owns a 2018 Dodge Durango. The contact stated while driving at 25 MPH, the vehicle that was 20 feet away from his vehicle stopped. The contact depressed the brake pedal but it failed to respond, causing the vehicle to crash into the rear of the other vehicle. The air bags deployed. There was no warning…
The contact owns a 2015 dodge durango. While decelrating at 15 mph to park the vehicle in a parking lot, the brakes seized without warning. The contact caused the contact to crash into another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was filed. The front bumper of the contact's…
Engine 230 Read
The contact owns a 2014 dodge durango. While driving 45 mph, the engine misfired and the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree. As a result, smoke started to emit from the dashboard. Shortly afterwards, the vehicle burst into flames. A police report was filed…
The contact owns a 2017 dodge durango. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 mph, the contact noticed that there was grey and white smoke coming from the tail pipe. In addition, the vehicle was running hot while the start and stop waring light and the check engine warning light illuminated…
My vehicle does not let off any warning that the engines overheating and the line stays in the middle of hot and cold but really my engines overheating my fan is not on and I get no indication No Light No notification stating me what the real problem is every time we hook something up to it to see what's wrong it lets…
Steering 141 Read
Power steering
Hello my name is [xxx] I brought this SUV 12/3/2019 .the guy I bought this SUV from he told me there's an electrical issue with the battery to the transmission I found there was several things wrong with it the steering wheel is loose. Need a tune-up oh when I got home the car starts smoking inside then the outside…
While on my way to an appointment it was raining and I noticed my car wasn't handling the water on the road like it usually did. It was pulling to one side or jumping around when it hit shallow water. I turned the traction control off and then back on and that seemed to make a difference. That night I got on NHTSA and…
Durango years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 2025 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2024 | Electrical System,back Over Prevention | — | — | |
| 2023 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2022 | Back Over Prevention | 2 | 1 | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 9 | 3 | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | — | 3 | |
| 2019 | Air Bags | 4 | 2 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 8 | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 8 | 2 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 22 | 1 | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 26 | 4 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 19 | 7 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 16 | 33 | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 14 | 30 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | 13 | 52 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 2 | 2 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 12 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 14 | 6 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 35 | 18 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 39 | 65 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 22 | 17 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 21 | 12 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 48 | 17 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 92 | 18 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 86 | 15 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 40 | 10 | |
| 1997 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 2,402 |
| Average complaints per series | 4.8 |
| Worst single series | 67 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.3 years |
A model average of 4.8 hides a worst series at 67. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Durango?
By complaint volume, 1999, 2005, 2004 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Durango years are the cleanest?
1997, 2025, 2026 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Dodge Durango have?
11,432 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1997–2026. Of those, 556 describe a crash and 321 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.